We're a family of readers.Meeting the most interesting people.Reading Romance, Contemp, Chick Lit & Erotica. Some can sizzle your blood. My hubby will be writing on Hist., Sports, & Mystery. My daughter on YA.What type of genres do you enjoy?Some good author interviews coming. We're on Twitter:@1RadReader59 Instagram:@1radreader and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/booksreviewedauthorstoo/. Enjoy reading, we will.

1.) The Clippers have a new owner finally. So now maybe that team will start
winning. Good to see.

2.) The Browns have
decided to start Hoyer over Johnny football, probably a good idea for the time
being.

3.) Even though she lost the
other night she still packed the stadium over 35,000 for a little league World
Series game. More people than most Pro
Games. She is still first female to
throw a shut-out in Little League World Series history.

Jack Reacher walks alone. Once a go-to hard man in the US military police, now he's a drifter of no fixed abode. But the army tracks him down. Because someone has taken a long-range shot at the French president.

Only one man could have done it. And Reacher is the one man who can find him.

This new heartstopping, nailbiting book in Lee Child's number-one bestselling series takes Reacher across the Atlantic to Paris - and then to London. The stakes have never been higher - because this time, it's personal.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This book I found to be a slow read and I have read just about all of the Jack Reacher, books. I enjoy the character and there are moments in the story that you get the Reacher that is in those books, but I found a lot of it to be just kind of mundane. He is called in again by a friend from the military to look for a sniper that he once arrested. He is also put with someone who has no field experience and though there are moments that make the story good for a while for me it does not last. Maybe I am not used to him having so much contact with a new person or that I read the story to fast. It is set for the most part in Europe and he still uses his investigative skills and survival skills, but not as much as some of the other books. Overall the writing was good and it did follow the story line that Mr. Child started with so that part was good like always, but for me not one of the better books. I would give it three and half to four stars. i got this book from net galley.

From the catalog: At long last, the epic biography Ted Williams deserves – and that his fans have been waiting for. Ted Williams was the best hitter in baseball history. This Red Sox legend's batting average of .406 in 1941 has not been topped since, and no player who has hit over 500 home runs has a higher career batting average. Those totals would have been even higher if Williams had not left baseball for nearly five years in the prime of his career to serve as a Marine pilot in World War II and Korea. He hit home runs as far as or farther than any player before him – and traveled a long way himself, as Ben Bradlee, Jr.'s, grand biography reveals. Born in 1918 in San Diego, Ted would spend most of his life disguising his Mexican heritage. During his 22 years with the Boston Red Sox, Williams electrified crowds across American–and shocked them, too: His notorious clashes with the press and fans threatened his reputation. Yet while he was a God in the batter's box, he was profoundly human once he stepped away from the plate. His ferocity came to define his troubled domestic life. While baseball might have been straightforward for Ted Williams, life was not. "The Kid" is biography of the highest literary order, a thrilling and honest account of a legend in all his glory and human complexity. In his final at-bat, Williams hit a home run. Bradlee's marvelous book clears the fences, too.HUBBY'S REVIEW:This is one of the most through books about a person that I have ever read. The author starts with Mr., Williams, childhood the neighborhood he grew up in, his home where his mother left him and his brother alone to the point a neighbor would take them in when they got home from school until the mom got home late at night. When he finally made it to the majors he would have that same neighbor come to Boston to see him play in his first game there. He paid for his air fare, hotel and food expenses. He thought of that man as close as his father as anyone. For after his father left he did not see him for many years until he made it to Boston. It goes into his time spent in the service during WWII and Korea. His many relationships with women and the marriages he had. His lack of getting along with the press even the ones who started out to like him. He even disliked fans once he pissed them off or thought he did from then on he wanted nothing to do with them. He do charity things but he made sure it did not get in the papers he did not want publicity he felt he just wanted to play baseball and fish and then to be left alone. The friends he did have he was friends with them for life and they got to know not to bring the press around or talk to them or he would cut them off. At times he seemed to be a hard man and at other times he was just a regular guy. He was always being compared to other players of that time and being put down for not performing big the one time they made it to the World Series. I don’t know even if he would have gotten any credit. He is still the only ball player to win the Triple Crown and not win the MVP for that year. He had some other years when he was tops in most categories and still would not get to many votes. He always said that because the sports writers were voting he would not win and to him it did not matter. He would win two MVP awards and 6 batting titles to name just a few. This is book goes into every part of his life and even looks into the fight after he passed away with the court battle. A good book and a very in depth look into a great baseball player. I got this book from net galley.

In The Hunter, the first volume in the series, Parker roars into New York City, seeking revenge on the woman who betrayed him and on the man who took his money, stealing and scamming his way to redemption.HUBBY'S REVIEW:This book is a reissue and I must say I am glad I took the time to read it. Though I do know of a couple of movies based on this book or from this series. This character Parker is fantastic, he says just what needs to be said nothing more and he is a little grittier than what was made out in the movies I saw. The writing is great and though the book was first written in the early 60s for me it still worked for me. That was not a problem that is when you know that you have come across a good author and story teller. I also did not have a problem with the violence in the book it is about a criminal and he is going after criminals who took from him, he is wanting to make things right and the way he goes about it is not going to be pretty. Being that it is set in the 60s and written for that time period once you get in that frame of mind it all works. An excellent story with a great lead character. A really good book. I got this book from net galley.

In Scotland to prevent a memored assassination, an American agent fights terrorists, traitors, and Russian agents.HUBBY'S REVIEW:November Man is a reissue of a book from 1986 that I was surprised that I had never read. It would have been something from that time frame that I would have been interested in. any way this story is manly back in the cold war time frame when Russia, Britain, and us were going at it spy wise. The very beginnings of China, but mostly the three of us. The story starts off with a man who is the department head and like all people his area is coming under budget cuts, but at the same time he is noticing a change in policy from a new person put in charge who is saying there is no longer a need for people since satellites and computers. All you need is a few people to factor data. The time for change and that time is now. This man who had been working for the agency has entire adult life knew that there was more than just a few agents around the globe there your many contacts that had been built up for decades and could not see all of that work go down. He called an agent that had for the most part retired his name or code name was November Man, not knowing that his boss had bugged his phone and he could not find anything about this agent sent him into a panic. This lead to a series of events that brings November Man out and into few with bodies being left behind, for they cannot kill him. This is a fast pace story with many twist and turns. A fantastic story of spies and of who can trust and who is out to get you. I thought this to be a great book and a book I finished in one day. Well worth the time. I got this book from net galley.

This wide-ranging history synthesizes scholarship and media sources to give the reader an inside view of the television contracts, labor issues, and other off-the-field forces that shaped the National Football League. Historian Richard Crepeau shows how Commissioner Pete Rozelle's steady leadership guided the league's explosive growth during the era ofMonday Night Football and the Super Bowl's transformation into a mid-winter spectacle. Crepeau also delves into the league's masterful exploitation of media from radio to the internet, its ability to get taxpayers to subsidize team stadiums, and its success in delivering an outlet for experiencing vicarious violence to a public uneasy over the changing rules of masculinity.Probing and learned, NFL Football tells an epic American success story peopled by larger-than-life figures and driven by ambition, money, sweat, and dizzying social and technological changes.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This is a good book about the over view or the new history of the NFL. He really does not spend too much time on any one era and I get that. He starts off with the beginning and with Joe Carr, who was the first commissioner of pro football. He was also an owner, and really more than what was given in this book. He was the one that wanted rules and reefs, came up with fines on teams and players and also owners. He did a lot and the only part or the book I really did not agree with was that he made him out like he always went to George Halas to make a decision and that was not the case. He was a very strong man and he made the tough decisions and he made the league and knew that the league needed to move into larger cities, New York, was really the place that he wanted to move the league to a get a team to find a strong owner group. Which he did. Anyway, the rest of the book takes you through 50s, the 60s and the AFL, which really could be a book all by itself, which also includes the beginning feud with Al Davis and Roselle. Then the 70s with the beginning of the rule changes to open up the scoring. He also has a chapter on how big the Super Bowl has gotten and another one on just the NFL in general with the NFL network and the NFL in general. He does speak of some of the people like Lombardi and how the Packers have made it. I also liked the chapter about Paul Brown, people either forget all he did or just don’t know, but a lot of what he started doing in the 50s with the Browns are still being done today in the NFL just in a bigger scale. Overall this is a good book, I will say I am not the average fan, I have been reading and following the NFL since I was a kid since the 60s, reading everything I could get my hands on, and I will say this is a pretty through book especially showing the growth of the league itself. A good read. I got this book from net galley.

Lindsay Sterling’s niece has gone missing in the New York underground and the cops do nothing except pass along a name. Jack Cole. Twenty years ago they were good buddies but horrors have changed them both. Lindsay lost her entire family except for her niece in a car accident, and Jack was held captive in New York’s underbelly for nearly two years by demented sub-humans. It was a soul-sucking experience that’s left him a shell of a man. He refuses to descend into that hell again, especially for a girl who’s probably dead anyway. But when Lindsay is nearly killed there after going it alone, Jack feels compelled to save her skin. Jack navigates Lindsay through a strange territory, populated with the eccentric, the insane and the desperate. Each encounter takes them closer to Lindsay’s niece but also closer into the clutches of the mad creatures that will enslave them.HUBBY'S REVIEW:Undertow, is a story that takes place below New York City. It starts out with to teenagers Jack Cole and Lindsay, he takes her in a tunnel that his father is working on below New York. She found out he enjoyed searching the tunnels under ground even when they found something that was disturbing he still enjoyed going underground. Now 13 years later she is looking for her niece who had been going in the tunnels to help the homeless but she has been missing for months now. Lindsay goes back to the New York police captain who she filed the missing persons report with and explains her plight. That she cannot find anyone to go into the tunnels to search for her niece. The captain understands but tells her they don’t even go underground because of the danger to the officers and that there is not any maps to go by. So he gives her a card with a name on it and it has his name on it Dr. Jack Cole, she had seen that name in years and when she started to think back she remembered that he went missing for two years after going into the underground of New York and then one day he just appears. Shocked a lot of people but since then he had lost his teaching job and she did not know what had become of him. When she does find she is shocked by his appearance, and where is living. She starts to talk to him about looking for her niece and at first he turns her down. It is not until the next day and then she works on trying to bring out of him what happened to him though two years he was gone underground and trying to bring him back to the living, while still finding her niece. I found this to be a good story really better than I thought. It does not all take place underground but the way the author brings the top world with the bottom is really good and bringing their relationship or friendship back is good as well. The mixing of two worlds was really a better story than I could even imagination. A very good book. I got this book from net galley.

SEAL Team Six and Thomas Crocker are back hunting their most elusive adversary yet: The Falcon.

SEAL Team Six operative Thomas Crocker is no stranger to missions of the highest national importance and the gravest danger. But this time, the mission hits close to home. The Iranian terrorist he and his squad are chasing is the same man who kidnapped his wife months before-the Falcon, who has been stealing Libyan nuclear material and is laying plans for a devastating attack against America. The hunt takes the team from Bangkok to Caracas in hot pursuit of the Falcon and his forces.Meanwhile, Corcker's estranged father--a former firefighter and hell-raiser who was kicked out of the Nacy as a young seaman--reappears, forcing Crocker to acknowledge his life outside the shadows of SEAL operations. Doing so isn't easy when duty calls over three hundred days of the year, and when it's this essential to take an enemy down.Hunt the Falcon ups the ante for Crocker and the rest of SEAL Team Six as never before. The bullets fly, the action is relentless, and by the end Crocker and his crew will be put to the ultimate test: surviving captivity under the most depraved of men and taking the fight to the Falcon's doorstep, deep in the heart of Iran.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

Another good story from Mr. Mann, about Crocker and his team still on the hunt for the Falcon. Which started towards the end of the previous book. This book takes you from the Middle East to South America, Mexico, and back to the Middle East. You don’t have the team doing any mountain climbing or big marathon races like in the other books, which I liked. This time they are dealing with more of recovering from their injuries and working on their home lives. One team member’s wife had a baby so they are going through the growing pains of being parents. I seemed to like the story more because of these parts being added to the story. Crocker and his wife are dealing with things also, which is to me more real to life. I enjoyed the story and the way it works between action and non-action. I think you will not be disappointed. A good story and well written. I got this book from net galley.

From the author of the acclaimed suspense novels Creep and Freak and whom Jeffery Deaver has praised as a "top of the line thriller writer," The Butcher is a high-octane novel about lethal secrets that refuse to die—until they kill again.

A rash of grisly serial murders plagued Seattle until the infamous "Beacon Hill Butcher" was finally hunted down and killed by police chief Edward Shank in 1985. Now, some thirty years later, Shank, retired and widowed, is giving up his large rambling Victorian house to his grandson Matt, whom he helped raise.

Settling back into his childhood home and doing some renovations in the backyard to make the house feel like his own, Matt, a young up-and-coming chef and restaurateur, stumbles upon a locked crate he’s never seen before. Curious, he picks the padlock and makes a discovery so gruesome it will forever haunt him… Faced with this deep dark family secret, Matt must decide whether to keep what he knows buried in the past, go to the police, or take matters into his own hands.

Meanwhile Matt’s girlfriend, Sam, has always suspected that her mother was murdered by the Beacon Hill Butcher—two years after the supposed Butcher was gunned down. As she pursues leads that will prove her right, Sam heads right into the path of Matt’s terrible secret.

A thriller with taut, fast-paced suspense, and twists around every corner, The Butcher will keep you guessing until the bitter, bloody end.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

The Butcher is a fascinating in that you actually now who the killer is at the beginning of the book and he is a man who everyone in the city thinks is a hero. He is also someone who set up and had someone killed years before who he had made look like he was the killer. Now years later his grandson who has now taken ownership of his home has found a container buried in the back yard. After he opens it he realizes what he is looking at and talks to his grandfather, who is still killing people. The grandson is a up and coming chief and does not go to the authorities because he feels it could harm his restaurant and upcoming TV audition for a new show. What his grandfather tells him is that he has the same traits as himself and the grandfather is hoping that the killing will continue. The grandson says no but then things start to get out of control for him and he slips to the dark side. This scares him but not like you think. This is a fascinating story of the look of how the killers think they can get away with something and then the way a reporter and a cop start looking at things not wanting to believe what just starts to fall in place. A very good book with very good characters. I really liked this story. I got this book from net galley.

Dr. Emory Charbonneau, a pediatrician and marathon runner, disappears on a mountain road in North Carolina. By the time her husband Jeff, miffed over a recent argument, reports her missing, the trail has grown cold. Literally. Fog and ice encapsulate the mountainous wilderness and paralyze the search for her.

While police suspect Jeff of "instant divorce," Emory, suffering from an unexplained head injury, regains consciousness and finds herself the captive of a man whose violent past is so dark that he won't even tell her his name. She's determined to escape him, and willing to take any risks necessary to survive.

Unexpectedly, however, the two have a dangerous encounter with people who adhere to a code of justice all their own. At the center of the dispute is a desperate young woman whom Emory can't turn her back on, even if it means breaking the law.

As her husband's deception is revealed, and the FBI closes in on her captor, Emory begins to wonder if the man with no name is, in fact, her rescuer.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

A story that begins with a doctor by the name of Emory Charbonneau and the lack of feeling between her and her husband Jeff Surrey. Yes it is explained the reason for the difference of last names but there is more the just the last names. He really does not like his wife. So when she ends up missing you get the feeling that he is behind it. She ends up going for a training run in a National Forest, she is training for a marathon. She starts the run but then wakes up in a stranger’s cabin. This is really where a lot of the story takes place, for he will not tell her anything about him but he seems to know a lot about her. The more her ordeal goes on you begin to wonder who really did what to whom. There is another person that is brought in and she is not only a friend, but a partner in their business as well. She also has something to do with it. Just when I thought I had everything figured out the author troughs another twist into the story. this story has a lot of emotion and you get pulled in to the characters, you find yourself wanting to finish the page so you can move on to the next one and continue to see what will happen next. You really get caught up into the charters which makes for a better story. I really enjoyed this book. I got this book from net galley.

Main Selection of the Military Book Club Made famous by her final commanding officer, John F. Kennedy, PT-109 is one of the most celebrated warships in American history. However, a full chronicle of PT-109 s wartime story has heretofore been lacking. Behind the familiar account of the future president and the boat s violent demise is the little-known record under two previous officers during the swirling battles around Guadalcanal.In these mainly nocturnal fights, when the Japanese navy was at its apex, America s small, fast-boat flotillas would sally out to probe enemy strength, vying with enemy destroyers, who were similarly roaming the waters and able to blast a PT-boat out of the water if main armament could be brought to bear. It was constant hit-and-run and dodging between searchlights across Iron Bottom Sound, as the PT-boats darted in among the enemy fleet, like a barroom brawl with the lights turned out. Bryant Larson and Rollin Westholm preceded Kennedy as commanders of PT-109, and their fights with the brave ship and its crew hold second to none in the chronicles of US Navy daring. As the battles moved on across the Pacific the PT-boat flotillas gained confidence, even as the Japanese, too, learned lessons in how to destroy them.Under its third and final commander, Kennedy, PT-109 came a cropper as a Japanese destroyer suddenly emerged from a dark mist and rammed it in half. Two crewmen were killed immediately but Kennedy, formerly on the swim team at Harvard, was able to shepherd his wounded and others to refuge. His unsurpassed gallantry can not resist retelling, yet the courage of the book s previous commanders have not till now seen the light of day.This book provides the complete record of PT-109 in the Pacific, as well as a valuable glimpse of how the American Navy s daring and initiative found its full playing field in World War II. REVIEWS Domagalski performs a highly proficient job as he brings these skippers, their crews, and their boat to life, in the process emphasizing that while PT-109 remains most closely connected to Kennedy, the little warship had plenty of other adventures before the future president arrived in the South PacificStone and Stone "I thoroughly enjoyed the book, inasmuch as I learned things that I never knew. . . . I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in PT boats and their history. T. Garth Connelly, in PT Boat World"HUBBY'S REVIEW:This book is more than just about PT-109 and the skippers or captains. Of course PT-109 is famous for the torpedo boat the JFK. Was captain of and the famous wreck and then keeping the crew together for a hopeful rescue? I don’t know how many young people even know about that part or about PT boats in general. The beginning of the book talks about a John Bulkeley, who was PT boats commander in the Philippines, he took Gen MacArthur and his family from the Philippines 600 nautical miles in open sea which I thought was amazing, to safety. He was then brought to the U.S. for recruitment and overseeing the building of new PT boats. He would also go on to lead PT boats on the D-day invasion when was picking up men out of the water and protecting ships from Germans U-boats. It then goes into the story of not PT-109 but the PT boats in general and the havocked they caused in the Salomon Islands during the long struggle of the battle of Guadalcanal. They thought they sank some ships but according to records after the war it was not reported of any losses by the Japanese, they did stop many night time shipments of food, ammo, clothing and troops. So really that was a win. Larson was the first captain of 109 in 42 and he stayed that way until later of that same year Westholm, made 109 his flag ship of the PT boats. Larson became his exo. They continued to the nightly runs at the larger Japanese ships, firing torpedoes, and then using their speed and smoke to get away. Did not always worked, but they were at day and night. I think the main problem came when some of the senior staff routed home and they brought in a new commander who had never been on a PT boat, he never went out even to see what they were like. When he came in and by then Kennedy was there and had just barley been given 109 as his boat the new and the old were trying to work together but there commander sent them out one night and told them he wanted radio silence. This for the PT boats was new for their radios only picked up short spots and worked well with each other that was how they communicated, besides it was hard for them to hear once they were in battle and they had all three 1200 horse power engines racing at full speed. For Kennedy they were called to action quickly that afternoon, early evening, all PT boats were going out the their assigned arears and wait for the larger Japanese to come down the slot. It was quiet for a long time then out of the blue someone yelled ship, and they tried to turn away but the ship broke them in half and killed two men instantly. Once all men in were in the water they had a few moments to gather themselves and asses their injuries. They then decided to swim for an island they saw but it was maybe a mile, Kennedy pulled a man along the entire way. He had also saved two men who could not swim and another sailor saved another crew member. These stories I don’t not remember from the movie or book but it has been a long time since I have looked at the story. From there the next he goes off and swims to another island which is another like 2 miles with the current. He has another crew member go when he gets back but still no luck in seeing anything. They decide to make a swim for a different island and of course that is farther away they make but barley. They find some food and some local natives on the island. The natives let island watcher know and in a couple of days they are rescued. Some are sent home because of injuries Kennedy actually stays and it is a little longer before he is sent home after a reporter stumbles upon the story and the U.S. papers picks it up. But the book also goes into how the PT boats help right after Pearl Harbor, they were able to do some damage and at least help while the Navy was rebuilding. They were also used in the Atlantic a little mostly the Mediterranean. Then they would become swift boats during Vietnam and still today we have swift boats nothing like the PT boats but the same principle, fast, armed, and dangerous. A good book about one part of WWII and a story that is not told any more. I got this book from net galley.

NFL Films changed the way Americans view football. Keepers of the Flame: NFL Films and the Rise of Sports Mediatraces the subsidiary's development from a small independent film production company to the marketing machine that Sports Illustrated named "perhaps the most effective propaganda organ in the history of corporate America."Drawing on research at the NFL Films Archive and the Pro Football Hall of Fame and interviews with media pioneer Steve Sabol and others, Travis Vogan shows how NFL Films has constructed a consistent, romanticized, and remarkably visible mythology for the National Football League. The company packages football as a visceral and dramatic sequence of violent, beautiful, graceful, and heroic gridiron battles. Historically proven formulas for presentation--such as the dramatic voiceovers once provided by John Facenda's baritone, the soaring scores of Sam Spence's rousing background music, and the epic poetry found in Steve Sabol's scripts--are still used today.From the Vincent Price-narrated Strange but True Football Stories to the currently running series Hard Knocks, NFL Films distinguishes the NFL from other sports organizations and from other media and entertainment. Vogan tells the larger story of the company's relationship with and vast influence on our culture's representations of sport, the expansion of sports television beyond live game broadcasts, and the emergence of cable television and Internet sports media.Keepers of the Flame: NFL Films and the Rise of Sports Mediapresents sports media as an integral facet of American popular culture and NFL Films as key to the transformation of professional football into the national obsession commonly known as America's Game.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This is a book for anyone who really is into the history of pro football. Here is the story of the rise of the NFL network before there really was any cable with so many stations to choose from. This story actually started out by the name of Blair productions and Ed Sabol, Steve father owned that company. Together they decided to buy the rights to the 1962 NFL championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants played in Yankee stadium. That film the highlights if you ever get the opportunity to see is really good for their first production. Form their they get the opportunity to sign a deal with the NFL to film games during the season this works out and by adding music and the voice of John Facenda. By 65 Blair films was gone and it was now NFL films, they had sold Pete Roselle on the idea of the league having their own films their brand so to speak. Then they started with weekly highlights of the games on Sunday. So for a kid like me living in a small town in middle of the desert in California, I could keep up with all of the teams and of course my Packers. Then they started having specials, Halloween Vincent Price did one with the scariest football players and they had others they don’t show those anymore I think some of them they might think are to violet for today’s viewing. Any way from there the author takes through the journey of cable TV, ESPN, and other networks that started with sports programing. I don’t think anyone thought ESPN, was going to be as big as it got. In time it turned out that the best deal the NFL ever did was buy Blair films, for now you have the creation of the NFL network. I don’t know if they, Ed or Steve, really thought that it would or could get as big as it has, but I do know they were right in that there was money in filming the games and through that they help with camera and sound technology just to name a few. I found this to be a fascinating book and full of a lot of information about the game and the history of pro football. I got this book from net galley.

Gary Svee's Spur Award-winning novel of a town caught at the edge of hell -- and the lone man who came to set things right. There was much to fear in Sanctuary, Montana. Small, poor, and brutal, it was a place people fought to leave, not one they sought out. Most men tasted the bitter bile of the place and moved on -- until one day, one man came to stay.

He arrived by train -- a tall, slim man in a dark suit and a preacher's collar. But this preacher was no angel of mercy. He drank whiskey, gambled, and faced down hard men in the street, wielding his belt like a whip of righteousness. And his dark eyes seemed to seek the secrets in the townspeople's souls -- their hidden desires, their vilest thoughts and most shameful acts. He would soon know everything, for he was the dark form of both unholy vengeance and blessed salvation. He was Mordecai....And God help those who would stand against him.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This is a reissue of this book and I am glad it is. I found this to be a very enjoyable and quick read. I don’t think I would have come across this western any other way. It starts off with a man arriving at the train station in Sanctuary Montana, and he is unlike most men who wear a preacher’s collar. He drinks whiskey with the men in the saloon, plays cards and unlike the men in town he stands up for the outcasts of the town. They are really the ones that make the story, it is like he knows about them before talking to them, but yet the same prejudices still exist to this day. Looking down on the poor, making fun or being a bully, hiring someone from a different place then not agreeing with their teaching and making them out to be the devil. The story lines in this book are still prevalent as ever. As the men watched a grown man bully a young Indian boy, it is no different than a child being bullied at school and adults not doing anything about it. This is not a long book it can be read fairly quickly but for me it was a powerful book and excellent writing. I am glad that open road media released this book. I got this book from net galley.

For the first time anywhere, the first-person account of the planning and execution of the Bin Laden raid from a Navy Seal who confronted the terrorist mastermind and witnessed his final moment

From the streets of Iraq to the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips in the Indian Ocean, and from the mountaintops of Afghanistan to the third floor of Osama Bin Laden's compound, operator Mark Owen of the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group--commonly known as SEAL Team Six--has been a part of some of the most memorable special operations in history, as well as countless missions that never made headlines.

No Easy Day puts readers alongside Owen and the other handpicked members of the twenty-four-man team as they train for the biggest mission of their lives. The blow-by-blow narrative of the assault, beginning with the helicopter crash that could have ended Owen's life straight through to the radio call confirming Bin Laden’s death, is an essential piece of modern history.

In No Easy Day, Owen also takes readers onto the field of battle in America's ongoing War on Terror and details the selection and training process for one of the most elite units in the military. Owen's story draws on his youth in Alaska and describes the SEALs' quest to challenge themselves at the highest levels of physical and mental endurance. With boots-on-the-ground detail, Owen describes numerous previously unreported missions that illustrate the life and work of a SEAL and the evolution of the team after the events of September 11. In telling the true story of the SEALs whose talents, skills, experiences, and exceptional sacrifices led to one of the greatest victories in the War on Terror, Mark Owen honors the men who risk everything for our country, and he leaves readers with a deep understanding of the warriors who keep America safe.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

I found this book to be interesting in that it was not so much of an individual story as what we accomplished as a team. The friendships made and the sacrifices for the team, family and for the country. This story was a little different than some of the Navy Seals stories, not much was made of the training, very little was talked about his family and I found it interesting that when he spoke of the different missions he was on he was always talking about the other guys doing their job. To me when he said he was a team leader it goes to show you that he stepped back and gave the team credit not one individual that the job could not have accomplished if we all did not do are job and if need to come to the aid to someone who needed help. When he was describing the mission and the practicing for Bin Laden. It made sense when he said the biggest obstacle to overcome was the failed mission from the hostages in Iran and how they had to show not the military people but the politicians that this mission will be successful. For me that was very insightful, I had never even thought of that. I was also impressed with the way they handle the helicopter crash and how everyone exited and got into place to enter the buildings, there was no panic. I also thought that it was smart that they picked all men with many years of experience so they had all had been on so many missions they were prepared from the time from when they were chosen to the night operation. A good book.

Over the span of his illustrious five-decade career, George Benson has sold millions of records, performed for hundreds of millions of fans, and cut some of the most beloved jazz and soul tunes in music history. But the guitarist/vocalist is much more than "This Masquerade," "On Broadway," "Turn Your Love Around," and "Give Me the Night." Benson is a flat-out inspiration, a multitalented artist who survived an impoverished childhood and molded himself into the first true—and truly successful—jazz/soul crossover artist. And now, on the heels of receiving the prestigious NEW Jazz Masters award, George has finally decided to tell his story. And what a story it is.

Benson: The Autobiography follows George's remarkable rise from the ghettos of Pittsburgh to the stages of South Africa, and everywhere in between. George Benson is an unparalleled storyteller, and his tales of scuffling on the Chitlin Circuit with jazz legend Brother Jack McDuff, navigating his way through the recording studio with Miles Davis, and performing with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Quincy Jones, Benny Goodman, Rod Stewart, Chaka Khan, Count Basie, and Lou Rawls will enthrall devotees of both music history and pop culture.

A treat for serious listeners, hardcore guitar aficionados, and casual music followers alike, George's long-awaited book allows readers to meet the man who is one of the most beloved, prolific, and bestselling musicians of his or any other era.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

In this book about George Benson, I found it to be a very interesting. I did not know that he was from Pittsburgh, PA. But he talks about his family life his mom and his step farther. He gave some credit to him for not only getting him interested in the guitar but also with the different jazz musicians. The different styles of jazz one person was Charlie Christian, he played in Benny Goodman’s band and with a few others before he passed at the age of 23 in 1941, but he left a lot of music. He goes on to talk about how by the time he was a teenager he was already playing in some clubs where he was not of age to drink. But he was always looking to make himself better. He would start playing with a band then they would move on to New York and then be back home again. Finally word spread in New York, like Pittsburgh and he was starting to get more jobs. He liked the idea of not being tied down to one band. But when Miles Davis called him could not say know. But like all of the other bands he was with it was only for a short time. After the sixties he had a few solo records but was still known for his work with other artists. He signed with CTI, known for jazz records he had a top seller in 74 with Bad Benson and two other records released later also were top sellers as well. By 75 he was with Warner Bros records, he was always looking to do his own record not be tied down by a producer who does not know music especially jazz. Then in 76 he released Breezin, this record was a huge hit and “This Masquerade” one the Grammy that year for record of the year. Still one of the best jazz records. He also did a PBS special with Benny Goodman, and he felt like he came full circle as a youngster listening to Charlie Christian play and now here he was playing in the same band. But after that he went on and is still making records or cds and still does concerts. A good story about a fantastic musician. I got this book from net galley.

Thomas Crocker and SEAL Team Six are back for another adrenaline packed adventure from former SEAL commando Don Mann.

When a nuclear device goes missing, and surfaces in the clutches of known terrorists, the United States calls on its most prized anti-terrorism force: Navy SEAL Team Six . Thomas Crocker and his squad from HUNT THE WOLF are called into action, protecting the world from terrorist threats.

With the same real life insight and pulse pounding action he brought to INSIDE SEAL TEAM SIX and HUNT THE WOLF, Don Mann takes readers inside the most elite combat unit on the planet and on an action-packed ride that is sure to appeal to fans of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This is the second book in the series and I found this story to be more focused and by the time you get half way through with it you almost forget what had happen in the beginning. They do start off running a marathon in the Sahara desert they don’t finish because they are called away for another mission. The team is still the same but you get a little more back ground information about each one. The story like I said really picks up at the half way point with non-stop action and Crocker having problems with government officials. Along the way he finds out some distress news and feels that no one is making an effort to help him so he takes matters into his owns hands. I really liked this story and the pace of it was good to make it a quick read. I got this book from net galley.

Navy SEAL Team Six commando Don Mann infuses his debut military thriller with the real-life details only a true insider can reveal.

In the midst of a grueling training exercise, Thomas Crocker, USN, unearths a pocket of terrorism that leads straight from the slopes of K2 to the cities of Europe and the Middle East. Crocker and his team, who are trained for the most intense kinds of combat in the most extreme environments, must blaze through a perilous web of terrorist cells to track down a ruthless sheikh who is running an international kidnapping ring before his captives pay the ultimate price.

HUNT THE WOLF is an adrenaline-packed novel sure to appeal to fans of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor, featuring the world’s most elite soldiers and based on the experiences of renowned SEAL Team Six commando Don Mann.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

I am reading these books out of order, I started with the most recent one first and now I have gone back to read the other ones. In this fist story it begins in Morocco, with the Embassy being bomb. You are introduced to the team led by Crocker and a man from the CIA that he seems to be arguing with. Here they are climbing MT. Everest and while there they met a man from Norway who explains to him about girls going missing. After some tragic events on the mountain they are order for another mission and while on that mission the team comes across information that leads them to not only the missing girl from Norway but many other missing girls as well. It also leads them to their target. But like everything nothing is easy. They do complete the mission and the story is entertaining and I found that the last half of the book more fast paced than the first part of the story. a good first book. I got this book from net galley.

Staff Sergeant Austin Hall has a brilliant record in the Special Forces—except for one disastrous decision that cost his best friend’s life. Now he’s heading home to Chance Creek, Montana, where he’d like to spend the rest of his days in the obscurity of his family’s ranch. Too bad Great Aunt Heloise won’t hand the ranch over unless all four of the Hall brothers marry and one of them produces an heir within the year. Austin is too broken to marry for love, so he places an online ad for a fake wife. What could possibly go wrong?

Ella needs to leave Hollywood—fast. It’s bad enough another actress stole her fiancé—on national television. Now she’s ruined her comeback by decking her ex on a morning talk show. Pursued by paparazzi, Ella needs a new life, a new name and someplace to hide. When she reads Austin’s ad for a stand-in wife, she knows she can act this part perfectly. To the rest of the residents of Chance Creek, they’ll be a happily married couple. In private, they’ll just be roommates. In a year when she’d old news and the Hall brothers secure the ranch, she and Austin will quietly divorce and she’ll go on her way.

Or will she?

Austin’s already finding it hard to remember his promise never to love again. Ella’s finding it hard to keep her hands to herself. But when they’re asked make a back-up baby, Ella realizes she may have stepped into a lifetime role.

Can this pretend marriage go the distance?

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This is the second book in Cora Seaton series. This story is a little more serious Austin the second eldest son is leaving the Army but he is having problems still with the last mission he was on in Afghanistan. And now with the rules that their great Aunt Heloise put on them does not make any of what is going on in his head any easier to deal with. It is actually causing him more problems. He is going to the ranch for the wedding of Mason and Regan, and now he must find a wife he is not looking forward to that at all. Ella Scales, was a top actress who was in a free fall from the academy awards which she did not win and her fiancé with an younger women who did win the award and then going on a talk show and losing it when the host also had her ex and the actress he was now with and see was pregnant. She could not leave so she did the next best thing, she poured out her coffee and hit him on the side of his head with the empty mug. Knowing her career was in a free fall and probably over she left. The next thing she was doing was she found the ad answered it and when they met they agreed to get married and stay married for a year. A win, win for both. Little did they know that they would be the best for each other? This book for was a lot more emotional than her first one in the series. Austin is dealing with PTSD along with guilt and just angry for still being alive. Ella, doesn’t realize how much she missed riding horses, being outdoors and actually making friends because they just want to get to know her and not want a part in a movie. This book was a story of two lost people finding each other and not expecting the other person to help the other one move through life to the next event. A very emotional but a very heart felt story. I really liked this story. I got this book from net galley.

Mason Hall, Navy SEAL, knows all about difficult assignments, but his current mission is one for the record books. Not only must he find a wife—and get her pregnant—or forfeit the ranch his family has prized for generations, he must also convince his three brothers to marry, too—before the year is up. Who knew one city girl and three wayward brothers could put up such a fight?HUBBY'S REVIEW:This is the first of a four book series about four brothers who are all in the service each in a different branch. They are given an opportunity to go back to the ranch they grew up on until their father died and his brother their uncle took over the ranch and their mother moved them from Montana to Florida. Now their great Aunt has control over the ranch because the uncle has passed away and ran the ranch into the ground. This ranch has been in their family for over a 100 years and she wants to keep it going for another 100 years. In order for them to take over the ranch they must live on the ranch stock the ranch with cattle and horses. In other words turn it back into a working ranch like when their father and mother were running it. They must also marry and have children in the first year of marriage. The first story is around the oldest Mason who is leaving the Navy Seals, and as he is going through all of his paper work he decides to put a singles ad out in the inter net. He actually was fairly honest about the information in the about the ranch, the military, hard work that would need to be put in every day working a ranch. He also included photos of himself and his brothers. In New York sat a lonely Ragen Anderson, who had given up on love and men and just left her job at a bank as a loan officer. She was going to try her hand at consulting and had an appointment for artificial insemination. She was tired of her job and mainly being alone. After a bottle of wine and shots of tequila she went back to her lap top and decided to send a message to Mason. As she answered his list of skills, riding, roping, roofing, and her favorite small motor repair to name a few. She also added glassblowing, cheesemaking, towel origami, hovercraft piloting, she then sent a picture of her foot. She then took another shot of tequila and passed out. Of course this would be the one that he would want to be with and he even went to New York, to talk her into going out to Montana. She does give in to him and once they’re out their it is nothing like he remembers. The uncle let it go so bad that most of their money needs to just go into the home and new fencing. He is surprised by not only the way she works but how she can see ahead when everything is finished. Like every couple they have struggles not always easy but they work through them. A very good book and well written. I got this book from net galley.

A Match Made in Texas is the sixth book in Katie Lane's bestselling, witty and sexy Deep in the Heart of Texas series.

Living with four over-protective brothers is enough to make a good girl go bad. But the day Brianne Cates hits the road for a taste of freedom, she gets more trouble than she bargained for when she's arrested by a sexy sheriff in mirrored shades. Now doing a stint of community service, she's not going to let a cowboy cop like Dusty Hicks mess with her newfound independence-even if he awakens every wicked fantasy she's ever had.

In Bramble, Texas, Dusty is the law. That means no leniency for the gorgeous rebel whose highway antics almost got them both killed. The divorced lawman doesn't need another rich, pampered princess, even if Brianne has the lushest body and sweetest smile in the whole darn state. But even as Brianne proves that she lives to walk on the wild side, Dusty begins to wonder if maybe he has what it takes to tame her....

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

A love story that does not start out that way. Brianne Cates is having to leave here home and hide out in a small town in west Texas. Her four older brothers are tired of her always showing up on the inter net or in the papers embarrassing them and the family. So they ship her off. On her way there she ends up in a game of cat and mouse with a man in a red Cadillac who looks like an older version of Elvis. He will not let here pass him and on her last attempt she has to go all the way over to the other side of the road and use that shoulder. When she gets back on the road she runs off the sheriff vehicle that she say at the last minute. He somehow stays up right and starts a chase she finally gives up but the red Cadillac is nowhere to be seen. She thinks it’s going to be an older man and she can sweet talk her way out of her problem, but it is Dusty Hicks, and he takes he breath away, never before has she felt like this. He is having the same feelings but being divorced has left him soured and the fact he cannot see their daughter all the time. Being his ex-came from money her father hired the best attorneys and he got well a bad attitude. This just makes the story better because she ends up getting away from their first encounter. Though she was in handcuffs, she was still able to get to her pepper spray well you can imagine the rest. Once she is found again and brought in front of the judge he decides to give her community service besides paying for the damages to the car. He community service turns out to be his house keeper, for no one wants to work for because of his surly personality. They of course start to work out their differences and there are some other story lines that are going on threw out the town that make this a very funny story at times. There are some serious moments as well but they don’t take away from the story. Overall I found this book to be a good story. I got this book from net galley.

The classic 1951 movie Flying Leathernecks starring John Wayne immortalized the USMC pilots who had fought in the skies over Guadalcanal and the Solomons.

The US Marine Corps has a long and proud heritage of aviation excellence, celebrating its centenary in 2012. While "flying leathernecks" made their mark in both world wars, Korea, Vietnam and more recently throughout the global war on terrorism, it was during World War II that they captured the hearts and minds of the public with their daring exploits. This is the first book to detail the legendary actions of famous fighter aces such as Medal of Honor winner John L Smith, Greg "Pappy" Boyinton, Marion Carl, Joe Foss, and many more. Barrett Tillman combines expert research into the history and organization of the Marine Fighter Squadrons with dramatic accounts of deadly dogfights.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This book is just like what the title says, the author goes through every Marine fighter squadron from the beginning of WWII to the end. He goes into detail were each were station on what islands and how some squadrons were very successful but were broken up because they needed more fighter pilots and the newer squadrons needed to be run by experienced men. But as men were transferred out some of the pervious numbers were not as high. He also goes into they were formed and he goes into some of the pilots time in the Pacific and the ones who stayed in after the war and flew in Korea and Vietnam. He also goes into the way some of the records were kept as far as kills went. He said that Pappy Boyington who was shot down had one number and when he came out of prison camp he had a different number. The Marine Corps has just stuck with his number not to rock the boat. Most flyers went with Joe Foss, as the one with the most kills because all of his were witnessed by fellow flyers. Another ace was Major Marion E CARL who was at 18.5 but was with Boyington the he got shot down and so they sent him home not wanting to the chance to lose another ace so soon, even though he did not want to come back to the states. They say he was in the same league as Joe Bauer, Major Carl would go on to set a postwar speed record in 47, in 53 he set an altitude record in the D-558-2 rocket, he was first Marine to make a solo flight in a helicopter, first to land a jet aboard a carrier and first to command a Marine jet squadron. Wanted to be an astronaut but was too tall at 6ft 2in. that went to Major John Glenn. In 65 he was now Brig General with the 1st Marine brigade in Vietnam, flying both helicopter and tactical jets. He was killed on the night of June 28, 1998 while defending his wife Edna, of 55 years from a teenage criminal. The murder was sentence to life in prison. General Carl had receive in his career two Navy Crosses, five DFCs, 14 air medals and 4 Legions of Merit. The other story I thought was interesting was Joe Foss, He was twice elected as Governor to the state of South Dakota, and he headed the Easter seals campaign and was the first commissioner of the American Football League. For his 26 victories he received the Medal of Honor. He was recommend for the Navy Cross for his actions at Guadalcanal but did not receive anything because the paperwork was lost. These were only two stories of many that are in the book, many that were never told about or written about. Most of these men did not care about numbers they carried about each other in the sky, the men on the ships and most importantly they all said the hardest part was the boys landing on the beach trying to help them as much as they could. This was a very through and well written book. I got this book from net galley.

Thirteen years ago, Webb Hawkins and Clay McCreedy were best friends, more like brothers than business partners. Determined to push Hawkins Hardwood into the future, their lives were intertwined on every level. Until Webb came home and realized little Molly McCreedy had grown up.

Stay away from my baby sister. It was the one thing Clay had asked of Webb, but it was a promise Webb couldn't keep, and his actions did more than ruin their friendship—it changed everything. Now Clay is dead, Molly is pregnant after a night of memories and alcohol, and a guilt-ridden Webb needs to put things right.

As what begins as a marriage in name only slowly grows to include the love Webb and Molly have always kept carefully buried, a series of fires erupts across Black Cherry Canyon. And an infamous eco-terrorist sets his sights on Molly—the ultimate pawn in his vendetta against Hawkins Hardwood. To save one, Webb may have to let the other go…

MY REVIEW:

What an exciting story with many twist and
turns and secrets that are revealed that I never truly saw coming. This is a story about Molly Mc Creedy and
Webb Hawkins who have known each other forever.

No, really, you see their fathers were old
service buddies who start a lumber business that they and their wives put a lot
of hours into and it paid off. Then they
both were blessed with sons of their own at the same time, Clay and Webb, who
were the best of friends too. They did
everything together.

Ten years later and the day before Webb’s
birthday Colin’s mom gives birth to Molly.
Both boys are so excited about their new baby, their gift. They vow to always protect and take care of
her. At around ten Molly starts to look
at Webb differently, really starts to notice that he’s a man and not just an extension
of her older brother.

Then at 18 years old, Webb’s eyes are
opened to Molly when he comes home for 4th of July and see’s that
somehow over the course of time she had blossomed a lot. He had started to see small changes over the
time when he would come home that made him feel funny, he even found himself
feeling jealous when he would see her with other guys, so he started going on
the business trips that kept him away more.
But he missed home and this visit changes all their lives. He couldn’t keep his off her she was just so
beautiful and Clay kept pulling him along to rescue her from the other
guys. When it should have been him.

Eventually, his hands and another part got
in the act without going all the way but they got caught by her brother and his
best friend in the world. The next day
Webb goes to confront Clay to tell him he would have accept him and his sister
he was at his calm place in the forest.
What happens her changes everything for Molly and Webb. At the same time there is a secondary story
going on with someone out to her Webb’s business any way he can but then it
gets personal and he goes after Molly.

See how their lives unfold and how they
bring it together but can they really make it work? The secondary story keeps you on your toes
and biting your lip. Will Webb’s sister
Bob have her own story soon? If so will
it be a love interest with Zane Miner he seemed interested in her in this
book? I hope so J I give this
book 5 stars.

Translate

This is a Family Blog. We leave reviews on Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest & Net Galley

Still figuring this out guys thanks for sticking it out with us. I am lucky to be able to read interesting books,write reviews,post on Net Galley, Amazon, Facebook & Goodreads. In my spare time I will now be blogging as well as being a Mom,Wife &running a small busniss. My daughter who is an advanced 12 yr. old will review YA books. My husband will review History, Sports & Mystery.

Search This Blog

Facebook

Blog Archive

Professional Reader

Each member starts with this badge, to acknowledge your contributions in helping books succeed.

Approved Badge Netgalley

Members who are auto-approved by four or more publishers receive this badge.

Reviewed over 500+

2016 NetGalley Challenge: I help books succeed!

Reviews Published

Members receive this badge when 3 or more of their reviews have been added to any NetGalley title details page by a publisher. (You can see which reviews have been added on your Shelf, under Feedback Sent.)